DANCES OF MADHEY PRADESHThe vibrant colours, unique attires, and melodious music make all the folk dances in Madhya Pradesh exquisite. Gaur, Muria, Sugga, Saila, Karma, Kaksar, Chithirai Festival dance are notable and have their connotation. Each dance is followed by a complete set of male and female jewellery, steaming curiosity.•Gaur Dance imitates the moves of a vicious Bison, representing the hunting spirit of the tribal people. Sing Marias or the Tallaguda Marias. Males carry flutes and drums, with peacock feathers and were horns like a bison. Soon female dancers join with their colourful beaded necklaces and rhythmic moves.•Saila is a dance with a stick. The dancers hop on one leg holding on to their adjacent dancer. This dance got deep roots among the people of Sarguja, Baitul and Chhindwaradistricts.•Sugga dance is the dance of the parrots. Women widely accept the trait; they tap their feet and imitate the moves of a parrot. They also bend and jerk their heads like a bird. A wooden clapper called Thiski is used to create rhythm and dummy parrots are placed on wooden bases for the performance.•Karma dance is performed on the festival of Karma, in August. This is one of the oldest dance forms of the Adivasis of Madhya Pradesh. Karma dance features numerous variants; some of them are Jhumar, Ghatwar, Ektaria, and Pendehar.

ARCHITECTURE

• Madhya Pradesh has encountered each religion and every reign that India ever homed. Whether it's the oldest Hindus, beard Muslims, meditating Buddhists, or elite Englishmen, the land has cultivated them all. The same is visible while exploring the monuments. Forts, temples, caves, tombs, stupas, reservoirs you will meet them all.Khajuraho Temples are the reflection of real Nagara Architecture. The site is reputed amongst UNESCO world heritage sites.

• The structure of Sanchi Stupa was constructed by King Ashoka to preserve the teachings of Lord Buddha. The hemispherical dome is a perfect round and tells the tales of the great Mauryan dynasty.

• Jahaz Mahal, is an establishment preserving its literal meaning, "Jahaz" means Ship and "Mahal" means fort. The place is surrounded by a pond, giving a real look of a palace floating in the water! The site was built as a Harem to 15000 women for Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din Khilji in the 15th century.

• Jai Vilas Palace is a blend of British-Italian architecture.

• Hoshang Shah's Tomb is believed to be the first-ever marble architecture made.

Sanchi StupaKhajuraho Temple

Jahaz Mahal Jai Vilas Palace

TRIBES OF MADHYA PRADESH• The Gonds are the most famous tribe and the largest group in

Madhya Pradesh.

• The Bhils, the second-largest tribe, are largely concentrated in the vicinity of Jhabua, Kharagon, Dhar, and Ratlam.

• The Begas consider themselves descendants of the Dravidians and are found in this backward class in Mandla, Balaghat, Shahdol, and Sidhi districts.

• The Bharia tribe is in the main concentration in the Jabalpur and Chhindwara districts of Madhya Pradesh.

• The Korku tribal community is administered by a panchayat (called sarpanch) and they are found in Hoshangabad, Baitul, Chhindwara, Harda, and Khandwa districts of Madhya Pradesh.

• The Santiyas are a tribe of Malawas who themselves are originally considered a martial Rajput tribe. Some tribes like Dhanuk, Panika, Solar still form an important group.

TRIBESGond Tribe

• The Gond known by another name Raj Gond is an Indian tribal group. The tribe is one of the largest tribal groups in India and most commonly found in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The culture of this tribe is distinctive. They speak Gondi Language which is somewhat related to Telugu and is also a Dravidian language.

Bhil Tribe

• Bhils or Bheels is an ethnic group in West India. The common language spoken by Bheels throughout their geographic location is Bhili. Now, most of these Bhilsspeak the language of the area they reside in, such as Gujarati, Marathi, or a Hindustani dialect. Bhils also have a rich and unique culture.

• Even Ramayan and Mahabharat have mentions of Bheel tribe. Kevat and Shabri as depicted in Ramayan belonged to Bheel tribes.

Bheel Art• The sub-division of Bhil is much known for its

Pithora painting.

• The tribes of Rathwas , Bhils and Nayaks of central Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh practice this Art form.

• The main theme of Pithora Paintings is the marriage of the deity Pithoro with Pithori . All around the divine couple all representatives of the universe are drawn-so we have the sun, the moon, stars, animals and plants dotting the paintings. Horses occupy a special place in the Pitora world for they are considered sacred.

Bheel Dance

• The traditional folk dance of the Bhil tribe is Ghoomar. Representing the symbol of womanhood Ghoomar is famous in this tribe.

Costume• The main clothing of women in Madhya

Pradesh is ghagra choli where ghagra is a long skirt while choli is its top blouse worn with varied styles of odhni or dupatta. Batik, tie, and dye are the main patterns of printing used on their traditional dresses. Ornaments play a major role in the dress of tribal women.

• Men in Madhya Pradesh wear traditional dhoti with a headgear known as Safa or Pagadi like many other Indian states. Men also wear Mirzai a jacket of black or white color. Costume of urban Madhya Pradesh is similar to other parts of India, women usually wear saree or salwar suits and men can be seen wearing shirt and pants.

Cuisines• Madhya Pradesh cuisines vary as you move from one place to another, each placecuisine has its own cultural and historical legacy. Wheat, jowar, and maize are mainlyused grains in people’s food.

• The Bundelkhand cuisines are influenced by their historic rulers and their climate andgeographical condition, they have their own unique Bhundeli hospitality. The maindishes are Murar Ke Kebabs, Kodu Til Ka Baat (rice with black sesame), and theBhundeli Ghost. The upper eastern valley of the Narmada is influenced by Rajasthani,Gujarati, Maharashtrian, and a tribal style of cooking and is called MahalkhoshalCuisine. There taste has evolved with time and modernity while retaining much of itsauthenticity. Some of the region’s favorite are Meva Bati, Gulab Jamun, and Tikkis.

• Bhopal has a lot of non-vegetarian dishes and is called “Meat Lovers Paradise”. TheirSheek Kebab made of minced lamb, fresh mint, curry paste, green chilies, etc. the KeemaPulav, the Chicken or Mutton pilaf are very popular and in the end, comes the “BhopaaliPaan.”

• The Guptas, Sindhias, and the Mughals ruled Gwalior for centuries and have givenenough mixture of different cultures to the area. Gwalia kebabs, rogan josh of Gwaliorway is very popular and the ‘must-have’ of this city is the Gwalior biryani.

• Madhya Pradesh has the Malwa cuisine, the Nimar cuisine, or the Bagelkhandcuisine which have a lot to offer. The Rass Kheer, Lapsi, Kalakand, Lavang Latika, PalakPuri, Bhutte Ki Khees (grated corn roasted in ghee and later cooked in milk with spices).Amli Ri Kadhi made with tamarind instead of yogurt, Khoprapak and Malpua aredistinct here and sure to be loved. Popular drinks and beverages include lassi(buttermilk), sugarcane juice, sulfi (liquor distilled from the flowers of mahua tree), anddate palm.

Fair and Festivals• The province of Madhya Pradesh is the environment of fairs and festivals,

which has also become the mantra of its style. In other words, the culture of Madhya Pradesh develops due to the excellent festival celebration.

• The most popular festival of the state is

• the Khajuraho Festival of Dance,

• Tansen Music Festival,

• Shivratri Mela,

• Pachmarhim Navratri Festival,

• Chethiyagiri Vihara Festival,

• Madai, Bahgoriya,

• Fair of Nagaji and

• Nimar Utsav.

Dance and Music• The famous dance of Madhya Pradesh is Karma Dance, Muria

Dance, and Kaksar Dance while Kuchipudi, Bharatnatyam, Odissi,Kathak are also famous. Karma Dance is the major dance for thepeople of the Gond and Oraon tribe who reside in the northwesternparts of Madhya Pradesh and is performed by both men and women.This dance is performed to welcome the spring season. Muriadance is a folk dance that symbolizes the culture and tradition ofMadhya Pradesh tribe people.

• During marriage ceremonies, Har Endanna dance isperformed. Kaksar Dance is performed by the Abujmaria tribes ofBastar to please god and seek his blessing for a good harvest. Relo,Gooning, Leja, Chait Parah, Dhankul music are common with peopleof Madhya Pradesh.

Art and Craft• Lok chitrakar, Chitravan, Mandana, Sanjhi, Thapa,Pithora painting are popular in Madhya Pradesh. Dhokra art isthe beautiful artifacts, statues made by non–ferrous metalcasting of copper-based alloys that use the lost-wax castingtechnique are very popular among tribes.

• Gond art originates in the Gondwana region of MadhyaPradesh in which the role of the canvas is often played by wallsand doors. Pithora paintings have bright colors and animatedfigures often reflect the joyful sentiments of the tribe and theartists. Undoubtedly then, these mark the beginning of anauspicious occasion like a wedding, festivals, and childbirth.Other popular arts of Madhya Pradesh are Marble Art ofBhedaghat, Nandna Print, Batik print, Bagh printing,Maheshwari saris weaving, and Durrie weaving.

The famous personality of Madhya Pradesh

• 1. Atal Bihari Vajpayee born inGwalior

• 2. Kishore Kumar born inKhandwa

• 3. Lata Mangeshkar born inIndore

• 4. Dr. B R Ambedkar born inMhow

• 5. Ustad Amir Khan born inIndore

• 6. Pandit Kumar Gandharva livedin Dewas

• 7. Salman Khan born in Indore